The Courage apostolate aims to help those who have same-sex attraction and want to live according to Catholic teaching, which recognizes homosexual acts as grave sins.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The Courage apostolate’s upcoming annual conference seeks to strengthen the faith and the confidence in Christ of Catholics who have same-sex attraction, helping them to live their call to chastity.

“The Church finds herself in the unhappy situation of having to say ‘No’ to things she knows to be contrary to the human good,” Father Paul Check, director of Courage, told Catholic News Agency July 1. “But whenever there’s a ‘No,’ and of course Our Lord also said ‘No’ to certain things in the Gospel, there has to be a corresponding ‘Yes.’”

“The ‘Yes’ is the outstretched hand of fraternal charity that the Church offers to men and women with same-sex attraction and to parents with a son or a daughter with homosexual inclinations, to indicate to them that the Church’s fraternal charity and pastoral care is expressed for them in a practical and concrete way at the Courage group or an EnCourage group.”

The Courage apostolate aims to help those who have same-sex attractions and want to live according to Catholic teaching, which recognizes homosexual acts as grave sins.

The conference is geared for Courage members and their friends, as well as members of EnCourage, a partner organization for parents of those with same-sex attraction.

This year’s conference takes place from July 25 to July 28 at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Ill.

Celebrants at conference Masses include Cardinal Francis George of Chicago and Bishop John LeVoir of New Ulm, Minn.
Speakers include author Father Emmerich Vogt, psychiatrist Sister Marysia Weber, philosophy professor J. Buziszewski, author Dawn Eden, counselor William Consiglio and Father Paul Scalia.

The conference will also feature workshops, personal testimonies and opportunities for confession and Eucharistic adoration.

“Gatherings of this kind are essential to fostering that confidence that God is very much with his people, with his Church,” Father Check told CNA. “The help that he gives us to live a holy life in a fallen world is very real and leads to the fulfillment of the promises that he made.”

“It’s a wonderful combination of prayer, of talks and of fellowship for those who see the Courage apostolate as a vital ministry of the Church and to promote the virtue of chastity,” he added.

Father Check is a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., who teaches moral theology and ethics to seminarians and men preparing to become deacons. He first served as a Courage chaplain in 2003 and was asked to head the organization in 2008.

Jesus Christ is “very much at the center” of every Courage gathering, he explained. Meetings provide opportunities for prayer, conversation about holiness and virtue in life, and how to take practical steps to “put aside behaviors and actions which are inconsistent with human nature, and strive for a greater trust in God’s providence.”

Father Check said Christians should ask themselves whether they truly see chastity as “part of the Good News” and as “a virtue that leads to self-fulfillment.”

Chastity helps people to prepare for “self-giving” and to avoid selfishness, “particularly in the sexual realm.” It helps people to live justly and to treat others “according to the fact that they are created in the image and likeness of God.”

Father Check called for more thoughtful reflection on how God created human nature and for a “deeper trust” in Church teaching, especially given recent Supreme Court decisions on marriage.

“Unfortunately, now, I think, for many Christians, divorce and contraception are not excluded from marriage, and that prepares the ground for an acceptance of homosexuality,” he said.

In “turbulent” cultural times, he continued, Catholics “need to encourage a kind of further depth of peace of mind and heart.”

“Nothing is outside God’s providence,” he said.

Courage has a presence in about half of the Catholic dioceses in the United States. Father Check said the organization “would like to see a vital presence, at least one chapter, in every archdiocese and diocese.”

The deadline for the Courage conference registration is July 17. More information is available at the Courage website.

Comments

Just how many homosexual catholics actually find sufficient support from “Courage”?

Posted by Joe on Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 7:05 PM (EST):

“Well, God also didn’t make people to turn into murderers, rapists, business tyrants and leaders that rule with an iron fist.”

Most of your country thinks that making such comparisons to someone needing love is bigoted. Your church is not the only one with something to say and nor are you the only individual with religious freedom

I don’t agree where poeple use the bible quote of “God made you in his image” as to dispute sexuality and saying it’s not how God made you to be.

Well, God also didn’t make people to turn into murderers, rapists, business tyrants and leaders that rule with an iron fist.

What happens after God makes us into his image is up to the individual, thus, God granted us free will.

We’re all sinners and are not perfect. If you can admit to yourself you are a sinner and go to confession, then what we are doing is trying our best while human—And God forgives and forgets.

The ones (like many homosexuals) that try to justify their behaviors and feel what they do is not wrong are the ones in grave danger.

Posted by Teddy on Monday, Jul 8, 2013 12:12 PM (EST):

Sorry, but even though I have same sex attraction, I do not feel Catholics or any other religions that don’t agree with homosexuality should be called ignorant or bigots. It’s the churches teaches and that’s that. There are rules and regulations not just in religious organizations, but at your jobs, your school and so on.

I feel what gives homosexuals a bad reputation is many that live a lifestyle that is nothing but consumed of their sexuality, their outrageous display at gay “pride” parades and the mockery that they are making “marriage” out of. Many show to be indecent, obnoxious and very egotistical.

You hear so much about sexual sin in the Catholic Church, I know, but there’s not much talk about murder, betrayal and theft. Heck, the church endorses helping illegal aliens in America: But isn’t being an illegal alien being deceitful? Especially when living in America as not a bonafide citizen, working under the table and not paying taxes?

Thing is nothing in this world is perfect, not religious orders, not our rules at work, not how the law handles many cases.

Just gotta take things with a grain of salt and stop living with bitterness and name calling.

I’m Catholic, I’m gay and enjoy my times at mass, watching EWTN, reading the bible, going on retreats and so forth. My sexuality is my business and I chose to keep it a private matter, for not to exploit myself….

I have enough faith God, Jesus and Mary will grant me forgiveness and love…

Posted by Carol Green on Sunday, Jul 7, 2013 10:35 PM (EST):

The Paradigm Shift Toward Marriage Equality

I was once a bigot. My parents and my era taught me wrong. In the expanse of a long life, I woke up and changed my mind. In penance for my youthful zealotry, I am compelled to share this insight with other bigots so they will recognize blindness to be a necessary step toward their enlightenment. I was once blind. But now I see.

The unenlightened mistakenly superimpose onto the Modern Age antiquated conventions of 100+ generations past once forged by an emerging, but naïve, culture of man. Today, this festering anachronism persecutes innocent homosexuals who suffer daily bigotry, hatred, and even death because of worn-out beliefs.

The paradigm shift has unique sensations about it. When brainwashed bigots begin the course of enlightenment, they resist. Goodness willing, slowly over decades—through observation, insight, reason, empathy, compassion, understanding, and release—the mind begins to open. The shoulders let go the heavy weight of prejudice. The heart lays bare its natural desire to love and treat everyone equally. Acceptance, appreciation, and celebration of our diverse humanity replace prejudice, animosity, and hatred. Cleansing of human character occurs within the evolution of the human mind.

The present day paradigm shift toward marriage equality is soon to bring FREEDOM FOR ALL, not just the “chosen ones.” Thanks to the wisdom and courage of a majority of Supreme Court justices!—Retired California Teacher, 65, Heterosexual

Posted by Carol Green on Sunday, Jul 7, 2013 10:34 PM (EST):

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? He’d shake his head and say, “Why did you select one group of God’s children to separate from the others and shame?

Why have you sacrificed principles and family to adhere to outworn beliefs of two thousand years ago? You mistakenly superimpose onto the Modern Age antiquated conventions of the emerging culture of man 100 generations past—a painful anachronism now unnecessarily shouldered by the innocent.

I left you thinking you’d take the love I shared with you to share with ALL people. Instead, you take a book of paper and ink, aged, disputed, and altered over time, and you make that book more important than LOVE itself. You deny rights to loving couples, and judge and punish them for being what God made them to be.

You single out God’s children, harmless and unsuspecting, and prevent them from enjoying friendships and camaraderie. You bully others into such desperation, they take their own lives. You defy reason, compassion, equality, and ethics. You withhold love from your own child to pray the gay away. You chant dogma that contradicts human nature. And, you, too, see the injustice and humiliation you now promote. All this you do in the name of God!

You travel a muddy road downhill in the dark.

I light a different path to a place where people treat others the way they themselves want to be treated… the place where LOVE resides. See the light ahead? Follow me.”

Posted by Jim on Saturday, Jul 6, 2013 4:25 PM (EST):

Rick Rosio: So which parent does a child not need - a father or mother?

Posted by Mary on Saturday, Jul 6, 2013 9:40 AM (EST):

You are most certainly worthy of equality! Wrong-doing has nothing to do with equality. Jesus is the miracle maker! Through Christ you can lose the wrong. What are these priests telling you? Christ is the Truth, as He and then the apostles have taught us. Homosexuality is only normal in the sense that people are inclined to do all sorts of things that are not holy in God’s eyes.

Posted by Joe on Friday, Jul 5, 2013 7:02 PM (EST):

“The Church finds herself in the unhappy situation of having to say ‘No’ to things she knows to be contrary to the human good”

Or you could allow others to enjoy religious freedom too.

Posted by Joe on Friday, Jul 5, 2013 6:49 PM (EST):

“You say that celibacy is a miserable life repugnant to human dignity but priests are celibate and many of them live happy lives.”

Actually what he said was that concluding that those with same-sex attraction should be forced to live celibate lives due to anothers’ religion is repugnant to such dignity.

Clint
They will never look at things from the perspective you give. they do not want to know because it makes them uncomfortable. not only because this could be them or the fear the church has put in them but because they do not want to know how much they expect from those for whom they do nothing.

Posted by Joe on Friday, Jul 5, 2013 6:40 PM (EST):

” It helps people to live justly and to treat others “according to the fact that they are created in the image and likeness of God.”

And yet we are so “gravely disordered to an intrinsic evil” that we are forbidden to love.

“more thoughtful reflection on how God created human nature and for a “deeper trust”

The church cannot make up for continuing to define people in subhuman ways nor can they make up for inspiring violence against gays with such dehumanization. If they stop disparaging and let us enjoy our human rights it might reflect what most others feel about God’s creation.

Posted by Rick Rosio on Friday, Jul 5, 2013 10:18 AM (EST):

This is for Father Scalia and his father:
Where to start?
As a Native American Gay Catholic Cannabis Advocate Progressive, under the Scalia’s definition I am not worthy of equality under the Constitution. For a priest in the catholic church Father Scalia is creating more destruction among the faithful by his bigoted positions and giving them the strength of the teaching of Jesus. Shame upon you…Shame
I sit with Jesuit priests every day and discuss our church’s role in modern society and listen to ELDERLY PRIESTS in retirement discussing the evolution of the faith, and here you are.. a priest with powerful family connections and you have allowed yourself to be corrupted by your fathers teachings..No not your heavenly Father but you flesh and blood father that has instilled this bigoted position. Is there some type of virulent self-loathing within your family..some abuse in the past of either you or your father that has not been worked thru in therapy?
I am sorry for speaking this on a public forum….BUT YOU SPEAK PUBLICLY and YOUR FAMILY POSITIONS CAUSE GREAT HARM TO THE INNOCENT.
Father Scalia, I will pray for you and your father, and anytime you would like to spend a weekend of discussion and prayer on your positions regarding homosexuality in society simply email me and I am sure my good fellow Brothers in Christ at the retirement home will extend a warm welcome.. Hey invite your dad as well. He could use a good Catholic tune up about compassion

Posted by Rick Rosio on Friday, Jul 5, 2013 10:16 AM (EST):

As a person of faith I am saddened by our church and her continued position of bigotry regarding the Gay community within the faith.
Shame upon you for continuing to split families because of questionable dogma, to provide children with a lifetime of shame and self-loathing because of a lack of compassion and understanding.
How do you look into the mirror and not call into question the suffering the church continues to inflict.. all in the name of Jesus..
Jesus would weep at the needless suffering our church leaders inflict upon the innocent with corrupt teachings.
I am worthy of Gods love.. and I strive every day to live the teaching of compassion of Jesus….
I do not hate or scorn…..
Maybe the “princes of the church” should be called to Rome and be defrocked for their continued bigotry in the name of Christ..among other things..

Posted by A's letters on Wednesday, Jul 3, 2013 8:00 PM (EST):

Teddy,

The Lord’s love can fill your inner emptiness for comforting male love which probably arises from a lack of secure male relationships in your childhood and adolescence. The lack of fidelity, loyalty and promiscuity in the lifestyle demonstrate that no amount of adult male love can fill the inner void. Friendship with the Lord can.

Clint, most psychologists once belonged either to one of those “flexible” (i.e., morally realtivistic) sects you advocate for, or a watered-down form of Jewishness. They have since slid down the slope, away from the eternal foundation of morality (i.e., Jesus, i.e., Truth), into atheism — or really pseudo-atheism, worshipping, whether they admit it or not, money, power, pleasure, etc. (i.e., they are really neo-pagans, not “atheists”).

May God assist you and all the others (many, many in these corrupt times) who have bought into the lie that we should “accept who we are.” What we really need to do, what the Bible calls us to do, is to strive in fear and trembling for salvation.

†

Posted by Teddy on Wednesday, Jul 3, 2013 12:55 PM (EST):

Thanks to all for your kind words and prayers.

I am glad that many feel that many others struggle with their own sins.

It’s hard. Some sins are easier than others not to commit over and over again in life.

I am grateful for confession and prayers, like the rosary and chaplet of divine mercy.

I have been told I am a child of God by priests and that always makes me feel better.

I’m not perfect, but at least I feel I am strong enough accept my sins and know that they can be forgiven.

It’s not like I have, at times, lied, cheated or killed someone. I’m just looking for affection from another human being—Even though it is desired from another man….

Posted by Jim on Wednesday, Jul 3, 2013 9:33 AM (EST):

Clint:

You say that celibacy is a miserable life repugnant to human dignity but priests are celibate and many of them live happy lives. You will probably argue that celibacy is not natural as other people have told me in the past. How is gay sex natural because two people of the same gender are not sexually complementary as are a man and a woman? Man and woman are meant to be together because they cam produce offspring without a third party and they are complementary to one another.

You say that the Catholic church is out of touch with reality but the truth is the same yesterday as it is tomorrow. You can’t change the teachings at the whim of popular thought because then there would not be any unchanging truth. Jesus told his apostles to change the world, not be changed by the world.

Posted by Linda Nelson on Wednesday, Jul 3, 2013 9:10 AM (EST):

Jesus’ words in Matthew 5: 27-28 are relevant here to sexual attraction: “You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Same-sex attraction is a sin - probably even a worse sin than adultery. It’s time the Church admits it and does its best to rid its people of this sin instead of treating it in an “inclusive” manner. Compromise with sin is diabolical.

Posted by Ana on Wednesday, Jul 3, 2013 4:04 AM (EST):

May God bless you abundantly Teddy and hold you in the palm of His hand.
You are in my prayers. We are all sinners in this life as you say.
Ana

Posted by Laura on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 10:38 PM (EST):

Thank you for sharing Teddy. We do need to work on our compassion. I hope you feel welcome and loved in your parish. It’s good to hear that you have some loving Priests. God Bless you!

Posted by Deker71 on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 10:03 PM (EST):

Susan: I suggest you read Robin Beck’s book - I Just Came for Ashes. She was a lesbian who did “pray away the gay”. It’s well written and funny! Being gay is a choice. I agree that you shouldn’t force people to change their behaviors unless they want to. But, if you want to leave that lifestyle for something better, you can!

Posted by Steve on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 9:02 PM (EST):

I am a man in my 50’s, and have been an active member of Courage for a number of years. Thank you for the wonderful article about our Apostolate. Courage has been an incredible gift that has allowed me to live, despite my struggle with same-sex attraction, in full communion with a Church that I love. I have made wonderful friendships and have received significant support in my struggle for chastity. The Courage Apostolate does not ask anyone to change sexual orientation, but only to live a chaste life in which we remember God’s purpose for human sexuality. I am happy to see fair reporting that covers the Apostolate I know so well.

Posted by Seana on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 7:26 PM (EST):

Teddy,

I like how you said that your sexuality was only one part of your existence.
Your identity is in Christ and that is beautiful. Our lady knows your struggles.
Do you pray the rosary daily? Mary will help you. You are her child and
She will never abandon you. The rosary is so powerful. Keep going to
Confession and never give up!

Posted by Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 7:20 PM (EST):

Over the past 35 years I have seen many Catholic men with SSA benefit from participation in Courage. Some of the benefits have been identified in a research study on men in Courage and a control group, including an increased rate of chastity being positively correlated with happiness. Many men report being strengthened in Courage by chaste male friendships and by a deeper friendship with Christ.

A 2009 doctoral dissertation on Courage demonstrated that an increased rate of chastity is negatively correlated with psychopathology: an increased rate of chastity is positively correlated with happiness; the time in Courage is positively correlated with a history of increased religious participation, and extended participation in Courage is positively correlated with chastity.

Apparently, “Courage” is at odds with the accepted authority on human sexuality, http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx in wh,ich almost the entire mental health community agrees that sexual orientation is immutable, not at all “pathogenic,” and not subject to change. The notion that such individuals should therefore live a miserable life of celibacy is repugnant to the human dignity of gay and lesbian persons. Fortunately, there are alternatives to Catholic theology, such as the mainstream protestant denominations, which are not so out of touch with reality.

God bless you, Teddy. We’re all sinners. Mine are different from yours, but we’re brothers in Christ and God loves us both. (I will pray for you today. If I may be so bold, I suggest you read St, Louis de Montfort and pray a Rosary every day. I was able to end a serious, life-long sin several years ago after the priest gave me the penance to consecrate myself to the Virgin Mary. Blew me away. I did not want to do so. Better to have been sent on a Crusade or something. But what choice did I have? I did it and I have been given the grace to move to a new level in my obedience to the COmmandments.) What sets you apart from many these days is your courage in keeping it to yourself. So many seem to think they can rationalize away their sins. And in the process, they commit a far more horrific sin (insofar as Jesus condemned it in the harshest terms): they teach that evil is good (i.e., that it is “okay to be gay”).

Susan, GAY IS AS GAY DOES! The Bible says in no uncertain terms that “homosexual” behavior is evil. If you think otherwise, well, you can join one of the myriad Protestant sects, or settle into a comfotable nihilism or neo-paganism. Christians do not believe X because they wish to do Y. Rather, their morality guides their beliefs and actions.

Don’t listen to the APA: they are 95% atheist. There is no “gay gene.” Consider: What is a “lesbian”? How do you “know” someone is a “lesbian”? (Answer: They tell you — or, heaven forfend, show you.) It is behavior, not essential being. Read Aristotle (thoughts lead to actions, which lead to habits, which lead to character) and “The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science” by Norman Doidge, M.D. Made in His image, God gives us the power assist him in the sculpting of our own souls (one free-will decision at a time). You can look at porn this evening, or you can read the Bible. You can “head bang to metal,” or practice your piano. You can gorge down a burger for lunch tomorrow, or eat almonds and an apple. You can soak in the tub later, or take a walk. Your choice. But the future you will be different depending on which you choose. And as Fulton Sheen says in “Peace of Soul,”, you are not only what you eat; what you are today is tied to the sins you have commited in the past. “Homosexuality” is learned by (and, all too often, taught to) the young. Once we are mature, our neuroplasticity is less every year, and we rarely remember how, sin by sin, thought by thought, we made themselves the adults we now are.

God save you.

†

Posted by mrscracker on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 3:48 PM (EST):

Teddy,
I imagine many will read your comments & be praying for you.I will, too.

God bless.

Posted by Susan Lersch on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 12:09 PM (EST):

Courage is just another “pray away the gay” group. Can’t be done, kids.

Courage should follow the path of the group Exodus, the folks that just shut down and apologized for the damage they have done to countless lesbians and gays over the years.

Posted by Teddy on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 12:04 PM (EST):

I’m gay, a devote Catholic, where I pray daily, go to church weekly and attend confession regularly.

Yes, I do sometimes look at porn and get intimate with other men. I know it is a sin according to the chruch’s teachings.

I do not agree that two poeple of the same sex should have their union called a marriage, nor do I feel gays should have kids—especially when they are created with surrogates.

I am not out. I have a handful of friends that know and I am private about what I do in the bedroom behind closed doors. I do not live the gay lifestyle, attend gay pride parades nor wave rainbow flags or wear pink triangles.

I live a lonely life. I’m forty and never had someone say they loved me. Relationships are hard to find—For many men either don’t want one or want to be in an “open relationship.”

I yearn for affection and do at times out of desperation “hook up” with other men. It’s something I am not proud of.

I’m a Catholic, a sinner yet my sexuality is only a part of my human existence.

I will say that when I talk about it in the confession booth, the priests have been sympathetic and never slashed out at me when I talk about it. They have shown compassion. I shed many tears when I speak about my struggles.

I’m just saying that I am a sinner, like everyone else and I have my own battles to fight in life just like everyone else….

I just ask for prayers and compassion.

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